Shikaki Nara vs. Minkai Zokatakei
It was sunny with barely a cloud in the sky. Shikaki Nara took the time off from his duties and missions to admire the beauty that Nature cared to show that day, away from the noise and confusion of village life. Dressed in his commonplace attire, a green flak vest covering black under-armor, with a sheathed tanto attached to the vest's back in a wakizashi fashion. A bag of equipment was strapped at his waist and a leg pouch wrapped around his right leg, completing his outward appearance. The many years of conflict and strife that plagued Shikaki's life in the past were temporarily forgotten, as the wind caressed his cheek and played with the grass. The moment was there for several seconds more, then a slight sound of disturbed gravel snapped Shikaki to his senses. Years of war experience came into play as Shikaki instinctively shot a hand to his weapon, turning about to see who could possibly be nearby. Enter Minkai Zokatakei Minkai gripped Soul Edge's handle. Someone was nearby. Minkai drew Soul Edge and took another step forward. The grass nearby died. Flowers wilted. The breeze quieted. Nature itself held its breath. "Looks like I found your next meal." Minkai said to Soul Edge. Minkai silently came towards Shikaki. A small rabbit hopped by, possibly the source of the sound Shikaki heard moments before. The ninja gave a sigh, deciding that it was about time for him to start heading back home. However, the presence of another stopped him. There were obvious signs of decay and death about the other and, most importantly of all, lacked any sign of village affiliation. Shikaki pinched the upper edge of the black scarf he wore about his neck, lifting it over his nose like a face mask. It was warm from exposure to the sun's rays. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" he demanded. The other did not look friendly in any way, shape or form, and Shikaki loosened his tanto's nestled spot in its sheath. Metal crackled upon metal as it slid along the sides of its small scabbard, ready to deal death at the will of its owner. Every muscle in Shikaki's body was tense, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Minkai smiled. "I guess I have a little time." Minkai stabbed the ground. The ground started to shake. The other's words and further action were far from friendly, and Shikaki quickly opened a flap on his vest pocket, a scroll sliding out into his waiting grasp. He yanked the scroll open, activating the power in it. A staff appeared in a puff of smoke, which Shikaki snatched. It is about 6 feet in length, made entirely of metal. Although his instincts aimed to let the other make the first move, the shaking earth gave the promise of a bad omen. The moment he was in range, Shikaki swung his staff with both hands, aiming to strike the other on the side of the head. Minkai closed his eyes. Flames from the opened ground created a barrier for Minkai. The flames soon engulfed Minkai. As the flames dissapated, Minkai was gone. "At least make this interesting." Minkai's voice taunted from above. The moment Minkai spoke his first word, Shikaki was already stuffing a hand into his leg pouch, drawing a kunai and throwing it. A slip of paper was attached to the weapon, flapping in the wind as the projectile sped towards the other. After throwing the weapon, Shikaki took off, running away from the crevices created by the weird blade that Minkai drew before. He didn't want to know what the sudden opponent could possibly do with those cracks in the ground. For now, the shinobi needed to learn about his opponent. Minkai narrowed his gaze from his unknown location. Although he had surrounded himself in chakra, the Kunai managed to penetrate his right arm. Minkai took the kunai out of his arm. The blood dripped slowly onto the blade of Soul Edge. "Shouton Release." Minkai said as crystals started to come out of the ground, either hitting around or attempting to hit Shikaki. A wall of crystals surrounded Minkai also to protect him. Shikaki formed a bird hand seal upon seeing the projectiles rise from the crevices. His shadow shot out of the ground, whipping around in front of him to ward off the crystal weaponry. It was not done at random: he purposefully slapped the projectiles on a bee-line route to his body first, so it would cross the path of other projectiles and ease the job of protecting himself. He allowed himself a momentary glance at Minkai, to see what the other is up to. The wall of crystals obscured his view, but he could barely make out the form of the opponent behind it. The moment the attack on his life ceased, Shikaki changed his hand seal to that of a tiger. The slip of paper hanging from the kunai within Minkai's grasp emitted a trail of smoke, for a moment, then detonated. Minkai jumped out of his Hiding place and on the open field where Shikaki was. Minkai's hand was horribly burnt and the skin was gone in some places. "Clever. I'll give ya that." Minkai said, slightly amused. His hand had already begun its self-healing process. "Now die." Minkai said as crystals surrounding Shikaki enlarged and created a prison around him. "One gesture, and you're dead." Minkai put his unhurt hand out in front of himself. Problematic. The first word that comes to mind as Shikaki took a look at the crystal prison that trapped him inside. No weak spots are evident, at first, though only time can tell him that. However, there is one way to break out. Shikaki reached into the bag at his waist, and threw a smoke grenade at his feet. As smoke poured out of the hand-held item, Shikaki crouched low, to present as small a target as possible. The smoke quickly engulfed his form. Minkai smiled. "Pathetic" Minkai thought as he pointed his sword towards the prison. "First Circle - Limbo" Minkai said as a ring appeared around he prison. The ring glowed, and a massive amount of black fire engulfed the prison and Shikaki. "Your soul is mine." Shikaki Strikes Back Before further action could be taken, a hand rose from the ground, moving quickly to snatch Minkai's ankle before his enemy could move. "Wrong!" Shikaki used the smoke as cover so that he could slip under the prison with a Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, taking the moment of deception to gain the upper hand. Minkai smiled. He lifted Soul Edhe, and cut his own ankle off. Minkai used his good foot to hop onto a nearby tree. "Hehe.. not bad, kid." the bone started regrowing from the ending point in his leg. Minkai's left eye glowed with the symbol of Geass. Purposefully maiming himself to evade capture? Ridiculous. Shikaki thought to himself as he emerged from the ground. He noted something different about Minkai's left eye, but said little of it. All he could do right now was to strategize. The cut off ankle was not bleeding as harshly as it probably should, gauging from the amount of blood seeping into Minkai's pants, which may be an indicator of some sort of regeneration technique. Yeah: definitely some sort of regenerative ability: the other's hand, the one that grabbed his detonated kunai, was not as burnt as before. How annoying. A comedial vein appeared on Minkai's forehead. "HEY! Are you gonna just sit there and think, or are you gonna fight?!" Minkai yelled. His ankle had fully recovered its bone, but the flesh was not yet regenerated. He was still on one foot. "Naive," Shikaki murmured to himself, as his hands flashed through several hand seals. "Bringer of Darkness Technique." "Ah, interesting." Minkai said half-heartedly. Minkai hopped on one foot into the air, and released a blast of yellow chakra. The chakra surged in a circular pulse, hitting anything within the perimiter of the area. The blast indeed hit its desired location, but there was nothing there to destroy, other than the soil and earthen material. Shikaki retreated back into the hole he dug with a quick Shadow Flicker, abandoning his previous jutsu. Underground, Shikaki began digging around, to prepare for future events within the battle. Minkai closed his eyes for a second. "Ah, how clever. Hiding within the earth to avoid my attacks. But that won't help. Hanasuko!" Minkai said as he came down with his sword pointing towards the ground. Upon impact, the ground opened up all around. "I added chakra to the blast, creating a similar pulse. If you dont get hit from the pule, you'll get hit soon, now that the ground has been opened." The crumbling of the tunnel behind him alerted Shikaki to the attack, but there was little he could do about it other than brace himself for impact. The strike sandwiched his body against the earth above and beneath him, stealing his breath away. Taking a moment to inhale the lovely air, Shikaki punched a hole into the ground above and shoved his body through, into the ground above. His staff was laying close by, which Shikaki grabbed with his right hand. This one has much more firepower than he has himself. That part is not difficult to determine. What is, though, is the other's chakra reserves. Practically all of the other's attacks utilize high amounts of chakra and require skill in controlling it. He is using those skills with seemingly no regard to the amount of chakra being consumed. Shikaki clenched his free hand around his scarf, whipping it out and releasing the dirt and soot gathered within its folds before wrapping it around his neck again. "I asked, who are you?" Minkai smiled, his body almost fully recovered. "Me? I am..Minkai Zokatakei, God of Death." What an ego, Shikaki thought to himself, tightening his grip on his metal staff. "Heh, I should be dead by now if you are really the God of Death." "....You take things way too seriously.." Minkai said comicly. Minkai hit the ground, creating a few more rips. "You're not serious enough," he answered, slamming the end of his staff into the ground before him. He formed a hand seal, activating the Shadow Possession Technique. His shadow snaked its way over to Minkai's position, moving quickly to intercept the other. Category:Articles by LaviBookman Category:Articles marked as clear